How local colleges are responding after Tech student kills police officer

GRAYSON COUNTY, Tex. (KXII) - A Texas Tech police officer is dead after a 19-year-old student shot and killed him after being brought in to the department for allegedly having drugs in his dorm room.

Now, students at Grayson College are on edge after hearing the news.

Aylin Moran is a freshman at the college. She said she has a close friend who's a student at Texas Tech, and panicked when she first heard about the shooting.

"I was about go in the hallway and call her," Moran said. "And say, 'Hey, stay in your dorm, don't go to classes. If you have to drive back to Sherman come back here. Just stay safe.' "

Freshman Andrea Silvas said she wasn't surprised.

"It is something that makes me more conscious," Silvas said. "It's awful, but with all that's going on, it doesn't even feel like a shock anymore."

She wondered what would happen if a shooter came to her campus. Amy Evans, a spokesperson with Grayson College, said they have many programs in place to prepare for that type of situation.

"We try to plan ahead," Evans said. "Obviously, there are some things you can't plan ahead for. We do have the alert system in place and our faculty and staff we talk about these things."

Evans said the college police officers train for active shooters, and the college has drills and alert systems in place that they test often. She added that there are maps and folders in the dorms for every student living on-campus to use.

Some students said they're protecting themselves.

"I think having a gun concealed is good," said junior Robert Campbell. As long as the person knows how to use it and not just anybody."

That's only an option if a student is 21. The suspect in the Tech shooting was only 19.

"This student was 19, he was ineligible for the concealed carry license anyway," Evans said. "So it's a tragedy all the way around."

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